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March 2016

March 30, 2016

A blog post circulating this week on RedState.com tries to deflect the failure of WV's legislature to produce a budget from its GOP leadership onto the backs of Democrats. And it is wildly disingenuous.

Governor Tomblin offered a balanced budget proposal at the start of the session, which included tax hikes on cigarettes among other things. It was a balanced budget as required. The GOP doesn't want to raise taxes--that's their right--so they claim that Tomblin failed because he wanted to raise revenue.

Tomblin presented the Legislature a budget that could only be balanced by tax increases.

The minorities in both chambers spent the last 60 days trying to thwart efforts by Republicans to present a balanced budget without tax increases. (RedState.com)

The fact the GOP leadership prefers more crippling cuts to the state budget doesn't negate the reality that Tomblin proposed a balanced budget.

The fact Democrats fought for their philosophical position doesn't negate the reality that Tomblin proposed a balanced budget.

The GOP is in complete control of both houses. They have the power to put forth--and assumedly pass--a balanced budget different from Tomblin's. The fact they don't, won't or can't belongs only one place: with Bill Cole, Tim Armstead and the GOP leadership team.

Unwilling to make tough decisions--or perhaps preferring to strangle state government with a lack of money to perform their basic functions, it's the GOP team that put the state in an untenable position. Calling for more cuts, they will need to hear the Governor's reality of how deep into the bone we may go as he explained to Hoppy Kercheval this week on Statewide Talkline.

How serious? For example, Tomblin has told legislative leaders that public education spending would have to be cut by four percent, or $63 million, resulting in the layoff of 800 school teachers and 500 service workers.

Higher ed would take an eight percent cut for another $28 million, which Tomblin says would result in the closure of schools or branches. Another $47.5 million could be culled from the Promise Scholarship program.

Tomblin made clear in an interview with me on Talkline Tuesday that he’s not proposing these cuts, but rather highlighting what areas would be hit if lawmakers want to fill the entire $270 million hole in next year’s budget with spending reductions. (WVMetronews.com Hoppy Commentary 3-30-16)

Government has work to do. It is not some Frankenstein monster created to keep politicians busy. The people of our state expect adequate and trained law enforcement; a robust system of education at all grade levels--to and through higher ed; a serious attack on the growing drug abuse problem with trained addition counsellors, adequate substance treatment centers, and targeted prevention programs; improved infrastructure; and the myriad other legitimate jobs of state government.

The budget has been cut 3 years in a row. Tomblin says $300 Million was trimmed in that time. The governor is not neglecting to deal realistically with the need for cuts, he has done them.

But the time has come to recognize we cannot cut our way to prosperity. It is past time to act like adults in the legislature and get our state government moving again.

(I ranted at length on this topic today on the radio. If you prefer to listen to what I had to say, settle in and push play).

March 23, 2016

As the WV legislature spent much of its session leading the Mountain State down regressive paths--with attempts at discrimination, attacks on working class men and women, an addiction to old technologies and jobs, and a refusal to look at new ideas and progressive concepts--many young people are finding it harder and harder to convince themselves to stay here in their home state.

The policies pursued this year are almost the polar opposite of what studies show young people want to find where they live. This--despite what we so often hear around the state: we want to find ways to keep our young people here and attract more to the state. The policies contradict the goal.

WVLiving magazine and WV Public broadcast broadcasting have started a campaign to look at this disparity which they call #TheStruggleToStay

Leaving WV was the hardest decision I ever made but at the end of the day, I had to. State employees had been without pay raises in 10 years and each year state insurance premiums increased making an already non-competitive salary compared to the local private sectorstruggle to meet higher costs for basic necessities. Already paid more and 100% below the national average for government sector in my field and no hopes of advancement any time soon, I left the only home is ever known and a job I loved in order to make ends meet. (Krista Ferrell in WVLiving.com)

Nikki Bowman and I discussed the issue recently on The Watchdog Morning Show

on CNN, she said the following: “I’m the only candidate which has a policy about how to bring economic opportunity — using clean, renewable energy as the key — into coal country. Because we’re going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business.” (WVMetronews.com)

As you can hear below, I think Clinton's comments were inartfully phrased and will hurt her politically in coal country. But, in fact, the presidential candidate is looking at reality. The on-line magazine Vox.com outlined some of my exact points as well, beginning with

1) Coal miners and coal companies are going out of business no matter what

Employment in Appalachian coal mining, which is what Clinton was talking about, has been declining since 1985.

The reasons are myriad:

Coal mining has become highly mechanized, displacing coal miners.

The best seams have been mined out, shifting demand to cheaper Western coal.

March 19, 2016

While the other candidates for the Democratic nomination for WV Governor--Jeff Kessler and Booth Goodwin--have been very outspoken on the issues facing our great Mountain State, Greenbrier owner and gubernatorial candidate Jim Justice has been fairly silent on any issues since his campaign began. So, I'm pleased to see he's coming a bit out of his shell offering an "op-ed" that is short on details but at least gives a sense of his priorities. Some make sense. Others concern me.

We need to diversify the West Virginia economy. Right now, we are missing so many opportunities in education, coal, gas, agriculture, tourism, the medical industry and many other areas. I can get a meeting with the head of any major company and make them give our state a serious look. One of my top priorities is to bring investors in from around the world to create jobs in West Virginia. Why not West Virginia? (Charleston Gazette Mail 3-19-16)

I'm completely in for diversification. Our unyielding reliance on the industries of the past is a big part of why we are in such trouble, but if we don't have progressive policies in place --the kind that business and industry of today are looking for--I don't know what success we can expect just by having meetings. The regressive approach of the just-ended legislature didn't lead to many policies young, vibrant, forward-looking companies desire for a good quality of life. What are the policies Justice thinks we need to implement to attract these businesses beyond just the power of his own personality?

In his private business, Justice can offer incentives and guarantees that he can back up. But in state government he needs the assent of the legislature and that' a tough nut crack at the moment.

Justice also joins the "let's cut government" gang.

We cannot tax our people to death. Just like in the business world, we need to make responsible cuts. West Virginia must rein in the size of government by attrition — reviewing whether we need to replace government employees after they retire or leave. Our state needs to find cost savings through modernizing government. With the right amount of cross-training in the state workforce, we can be more efficient. (Charleston Gazette-Mail 3-19-16)

Here is where we must all nod sagely and admit that there are always ways to streamline, modernize, reorganize, and eliminate waste. You certainly can't deny that.

But government has work to do. We need to invest in infrastructure, education, public safety, health care, the social safety net and more. Investment requires capital and in the public sector that comes from taxes. Targeted tax hikes (like the tobacco tax) and designated tax hikes (like the gas tax) should not be off the table. The tax breaks we give business and industry need reviewed and perhaps removed. The natural gas industry is a gigantic industry that--even with current economic drag--is wildly profitable yet we refuse to look at increasing their severance tax.

The state budget has been cut and cut again over the past few years. It is impossible to cut our way to prosperity. While we should be alert to protecting working West Virginians from excessive taxes, we should never be afraid to raise revenue to invest where we need to. Government has work to do.

March 17, 2016

Earlier this week, I talked with Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown and Youngstown area congressman Tim Ryan about their support of Clinton. Quick summary might be: both feel she would be the most effective and pragmatic candidate.